Flowers For Her Smile
by Flashback 1701
Summary: Formerly 3 Minutes to Midnight. In the midst of a busy day, Hungary is stopped when she's presented with a small bouquet addressed to "the prettiest girl on the street". Slight PruHun.


Hetaverse. Oneshot. Slight PruHun.

A/N: This is really probably as close to fluff as I will manage without dying. Written for a prompt "What would you do if a man approached you on the street and gave you a dozen flowers?" though this seemed to be really unrelated to that, in hindsight. ^^;

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><p>Erzsébet Héderváry had been completely focused on that day, hurriedly bustling from an economic conference to a meeting with her boss that had been intended to begin only eleven minutes prior. This was the way the year had been going, all rushing and planning and discussing… It never seemed to end. With tired, sleep-deprived eyes to her phone where she tracked the outbreak of protest across the western hemisphere, she walked swiftly upon stylishly-booted feet that clacked against the cold pavement of late autumn.<p>

Glancing up to ensure that she wouldn't accidently plow into any innocent bystanders, Erzsébet skirted a young boy clutching a fistful of pale blue cornflowers.

"Ah, _elnézést_."

"_Hé, várj__!_" The child paused to squint down at a scrap of paper in his hand, then to carefully study her face. "Are you Erzsébet Héderváry?"

She nodded slowly, suspiciously. "Yes, that's me."

"Then these are for you!" The boy thrust the modest bouquet at her, grinning a youthfully toothless smile.

"For me?"

"Uh-huh. The mister who gave them to me said you'd be the prettiest girl on the street."

Erzsébet accepted the flowers gratefully and kissed the child on the cheek. "You tell that mister 'thank you', okay?"

"Yes ma'am!" Blushing, he tore down the street and disappeared around the corner.

His nation followed curiously, half knowing and half wanting confirmation. The clumsy Magyar on the far side of the small building made her smile, though, and when the delivery boy had been thanked, tipped, and dismissed, she crept around to meet the usual culprit.

"'The prettiest girl on the street', am I?" Erzsébet's slim and powerful fingers slid across her old friend's shoulder to hold him in place as she teased him. "That's sweet of you, Gilbert."

"What can I say? I'm a sweet guy." He only laughed in response, the blush across his cheeks undeniable. "Besides, who said I was sending those flowers to you? How do you know that kid didn't just get confused?"

"There's the Prussian ass I know."

Drawing her hand from his shoulder and kissing it in a manner that seemed to openly mock the ceremony of old etiquette, Gilbert looked up at her from mischievous, cat-like eyes. "So, where're you headed today? You seem awful busy, Liz."

"My boss wants to see me before the day gets out – probably going to chew my ear off about something like international politics or marketing." She sighed from the corner of her mouth, sweeping up a misplaced strand of chestnut with the disheartened huff. "I say screw this shit, let's go hunting like the old days."

"Sounds like a plan," the pale-haired former nation assented. Tilting his head thoughtfully, he directed his attention to the clouded, monochromatic sky. "Take a breath, Liz, you look dead on your feet."

"Aren't we all these days?"

"That's not funny."

"Ah, right." Her expression became sheepish. "Sorry."

"Anyway, I've gotta run. West was asking if I could help him with some paperwork." Smirking faintly, the ex-kingdom continued to search the empty heavens for something that would possibly never appear. "That just means he wants me to forge his signature on a few documents so he can get a little sleep for once."

Erzsébet giggled as the image of Gilbert scowling like his brother at some seventeen page proposal with a pen in hand and reading glasses in place rose quickly from the depths of her mind. "You're more than welcome to come and help me with my paperwork any day."

"Oh yeah?" Now he met her eyes with the air of an overly eager hound with ears perked and tail wagging. "I'm taking that as an invitation, you know. I'm gonna fucking show up when you least expect me."

"You idiot." She grasped his collar and yanked him down to her level while her smile became dangerous. "Do you think I don't know you enough to figure out exactly when you'll show up? All I can say is that if you come over drunk, expect to be sent back to Berlin via frying pan."

"I'd expect nothing less."

"That means I've trained you right." Pecking him on the lips, she drew away waving the flowers at him. "Thanks for this, Gilbert."

He shrugged crookedly, looking pleased with himself (though he often did). "No problem."

"I'll see you later then."

He watched her saunter down the street, her phone out once more and held at the ready. As she faded into the distance, the Prussian finally let out an exhale that had been forming in his stiff chest for several minutes. The world was constantly shifting, constantly demanding more from the nations born of its separate populations. It was grueling, wearing down even the steely resolve of the most resilient of his kind, and sometimes (from a perspective he could no longer appreciate) it was just nice to see some spontaneity. It was nice to know that the entire planet was not riding your ass for things that weren't nearly as meaningful as the current generation cared to think.

Hands tucked emptily into his coat pockets, he set off at a brisk march to match the beat of the familiar whistled tune that danced on pursed lips. Though the burden of a nation was great, he knew that Erzsébet, his beloved Liz, was more than up to the challenge. And when she wasn't, well, he would be waiting in the wings to steal a few minutes and make her smile.

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><p>AN: I used Google Translate for the Magyar/Hungarian. I'm sorry for any mistakes. My hovercraft is full of eels.

_elnézést - _excuse me

_Hé, várj! - _Hey, wait!


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